POLL: Clippers' Playoffs MVP

[og15]

I think at this stage, the Clippers are in a position where the best player in a series will be whomever has the best matchup. If we look in recent Clippers history, CP has been by far the best player in the series in 2/3 series', of course, those two were vs Memphis.

In the SA series is was significantly hampered, but he was terrible, and Griffin was the best Clipper, despite it not being a very good series efficiency wise and defensively (other things contributed to that too), he did put up some points and was much more efficient than the atrocious Paul.

I think with the maturation of Blake's game the team is at a stage where we can have two guys being equally as valuable and playing at a high level, or really have it be dependent on the matchup and how the opposition is approaching the defense.

Injuries will be key. Ticky tack injuries happen, but the team can't afford either of these guys injuring a knee, hip or groin or severe ankle injury in the post-season. If it's the little soreness, those kind of injuries that you can play through and be basically as effective as normal, just need a lot of ice and treatment, that's okay.

.....with all that said, the most valuable piece for the Clippers is going to be defense. I don't want to say DJ because it is a team thing, but the current main Clippers cores two playoff series losses have featured terrible defense outside of any offensive struggles that might have been present.

Drtg vs SA: 113.7
Drtg vs Memphis: 114.6

The Clippers current Ortg is 112.0. So even if the Clippers were able to score at regular season efficiency against better defensive teams, which is already hard enough, it would not be easy to beat anyone in the post-season if they are giving up so much on the other end.

Now, of course, Doc has changed some things. Team is no longer hacking like crazy, Clippers are 5th in opponent eFG% and first in opponent 3PT%. The system is consistent, the players have a better sense of where to be. DJ has embraced the role as defensive anchor and the voice at the back line and will get on guys and correct them. I don't expect this teams defense to fold like previous seasons, but even if the offense is firing on all cylinders, if the teams defense is as poor as the SA series and last years Memphis series, they will likely loose in the post-season.

[TheNewEra]

Blake Griffin going beast no team can stop us...hopefully lol

[Ranma]

Based on the vote of some NBA.com writers: 5 for Paul, 3 for Griffin, and 1 for Rivers.

Scott Howard-Cooper, NBA.com (3/19/14)

Chris Paul is the best point guard in the world, and that is a unique level of special considering the position, but the highlight-smasher is the MVP of the team. Blake Griffin was just as great with Paul out with a shoulder injury and with CP3 regaining his rhythm as with Paul in a good place. The Clippers are better this season because Griffin is better. He should get third-place votes in the real MVP race, the league-wide one.

Sekou Smith, NBA.com (3/19/14)

This is a great question and one that I’m sure Doc Rivers is glad he doesn’t have to answer. I’m going to split hairs and make it clear that Blake Griffin, as of this moment, is the Clippers’ best player. He’s done more this season, with and without Chris Paul in the lineup, than even the most optimistic of fans (yes, I’m talking about you, Clipper Darrell) could have imagined. Griffin will rightfully finish in the top three or four of the MVP race and has legitimized his profile as one of the league’s truly elite power forwards and overall players. But if someone asks who the Clippers’ most valuable player is, Paul has yet to relinquish that title. The Clippers’ turnaround that began before the arrival of Rivers, was spurred by Paul. He was a culture-shifter and franchise-changer for a Clippers outfit in dire need of some project rehab work in both departments. Best player right now? Griffin. Most valuable player? Paul.

Lang Whitaker, NBA.com All Ball blog (3/19/14)

How about neither? Honestly, I’d like to cast a vote for the guy who has the offense clicking, who has the defense playing a million times better than they were the first few weeks of the season, who has figured out how to overcome the loss of guys like that gritty point guard, and who has put the highlight-smashing power forward in position to succeed, and who has added guys like Hedo Turkoglu and Big Baby Davis and Danny Granger. I’ve said all along that this season, the Clippers’ MVP has to be Doc Rivers.

Blogtable: The MVP of the LAC

[Ranma]

Andrew Sharp, Grantland (4/22/14)

I’ve loved watching Chris Paul his entire career, and this Clippers team can play with anyone. While skeptics call him overrated and others say he’s underrated, this is a year when Paul can end the debates.

Then Game 1 happened, and I realized it’s a little more complicated. Saturday was Paul’s whole playoff career in a nutshell.
...

Cut to Game 2 last night, and we got something new. Blake Griffin had been in foul trouble for most of Game 1 and never got in a rhythm. Monday night, the new-and-improved Griffin came out and shredded the Warriors. He finished with 35, and the Clippers had a 30-point lead four minutes into the third quarter. It was the rare playoff game that everyone can just ignore, because what do you need to say? L.A. was better at everything.

That was the Clippers team that can contend for a title.

When L.A. runs the offense through Blake Griffin, it leads to easy shots for everybody on the floor, and the whole team becomes twice as hard to stop. As the second half turned into a blowout, it got me thinking of the overrated/underrated Chris Paul conversation again, and the twist with this Clippers team.

Paul is still L.A.’s best player and he can still take over games, but the Clippers are so much better when he’s balancing his Hulk side with the side that actually plays point guard, letting Griffin be the superhero. Part of that balancing act is his responsibility, and part of it is on his teammates to be good enough to carry the load.

Either way, I realized Saturday that if the Clippers are relying on Paul to be the hero this spring, they’ve already lost, either against the Warriors in the next week or against the Grizzlies or Thunder in the next round. We have six years of playoff evidence to prove this theory.

The Clippers and the Chris Paul Paradox

[mj_shoefanatic]

BG!! Whenever he's in the game and not in foul trouble he's a hand full for the opposition and a serious momentum shifter for us. Even CP3 defers to Griffin now bc of this.